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Of the three mysteriously missing emperors in history, one was only 1 month old, and one made Zhu Di feel very nervous

Text/Comrade Guevara

According to statistics, there were more than 400 emperors in ancient China, the whereabouts of the vast majority of whom were clearly recorded, and the whereabouts of only 3 emperors became a mystery, as if "evaporation in the world". They are:

Emperor Yanzheng of Min, the thirteenth son of Emperor Taizu of Min, younger brother of Emperor Yanhan of Min, Emperor Taizong of Min, and Emperor Yanxi of Min, was initially appointed as the governor of The Capital, and was later appointed as the Assassin of Jianzhou. During Wang Yanxi's reign, he was arrogant and tyrannical and jealous of the clan, and Wang Yanzheng was reprimanded for his advice, and the two brothers formed a grudge. In the fifth year of the Later Jin Dynasty (940), Wang Yanxi ordered a crusade against Wang Yanzheng, and a four-year civil war broke out. In February of the eighth year of Tianfu (943), Wang Yanzheng claimed the title of emperor in Jianzhou, and the state name was Yin.

Of the three mysteriously missing emperors in history, one was only 1 month old, and one made Zhu Di feel very nervous

Wang Yanzheng was defeated and surrendered to southern Tang, and his deeds are unknown

The following year (944), Wang Yanxi was killed by the general Zhu Wenjin, who established himself as the King of Min, but was soon killed by Wang Yanxi's former subjects. After Zhu Wenjin was killed, Wang Yanzheng was greeted by Wang Yanxi's former vassals, who led an army into Fuzhou and restored the state name to Min. The civil unrest in the Min state lasted for several years, providing the Southern Tang with the opportunity to attack. In the same year that Wang Yanzheng entered Fuzhou, Li Jing, the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, sent the general Cha Wenhui to attack the state of Min, and Wang Yanzheng surrendered. Since then, Wang Yanzheng's deeds have no longer appeared in the annals of history, as if "evaporation in the world".

Emperor Yuan tianshun was the eldest son of Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty, the eldest son of Timur, the grandson of Emperor Taiding, and his mother was Empress Babuhan, who was made crown prince at the age of 3, when he was in the first year of Taiding (1323). Emperor Taiding was a famous "wife-in-law" emperor in history, who did not dare to restrain the various arrogant behaviors of Empress Babuhan, and could only live in the study of Buddhism. Coupled with the fact that the Empire was in a difficult autumn at this time, all kinds of troubles came and went, which made the mediocre Emperor Taiding feel very depressed, and his physical condition was getting worse and worse.

Of the three mysteriously missing emperors in history, one was only 1 month old, and one made Zhu Di feel very nervous

Taisada Emperor Images

In July of the first year of Zhihe (1328), during emperor Taiding's inspection of northern Xinjiang, he died of illness in Kaiping Province, Shangdu, at the age of 36. According to the regulations, the crown prince Asokihachi was supposed to succeed to the throne as emperor, but the power minister Rasha, out of the need for long-term power, was hesitant to support the new monarch and secretly carried out the work of eradicating dissidents. The move to overthrow the sand has aroused suspicion and fear among the government and the public, thus providing a good opportunity for those with ulterior motives to create turmoil.

In September of that year, the Privy Councillor Yan Timur staged a coup d'état in Dadu and proclaimed Emperor Wuzong of Yuan (Emperor Taiding's cousin, reigned 1307-1311) as emperor. After the news reached Shangdu, Qianglasha, who felt that something was not good, began to act, and joined forces with Emperor Zong, Wang Chan, and others to support Asoki Viii on the throne, changed yuan to Tianshun, and sent a large army south to attack Dadu. At first, Shangdu's army attacked fiercely, once reaching the outskirts of Dadu, but then suffered a crushing defeat in Zaolin and Tanzhou Nanye, resulting in a reversal of the situation.

Of the three mysteriously missing emperors in history, one was only 1 month old, and one made Zhu Di feel very nervous

After the fall of Shangdu, the Tianshun Emperor's way down was unknown

After Yan Timur defeated the Dadu "rebel army", he immediately marched north and surrounded Shangdu. On October 13 of the same year, Qilasha knew that the general trend had gone, so he had to go out of the city and surrender, and the Tianshun regime, which had been established for less than a month, collapsed. As for the outcome of Asokyo VIII, there is no record in the main history, as if it were "evaporation on earth", but according to the Mongolian historical records "Golden History" and "The Flow of the Ganges", it is said that he died in the rebellion (there is doubt here).

Emperor Jianwen of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yunjiao, was the grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang, the ming emperor, the eldest son of Zhu Biao, the prince of Yiwen, and the nephew of Zhu Di. In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu (1392), Zhu Biao died of illness, and Zhu Yunjiao was made the emperor's grandson by Zhu Yuanzhang, and succeeded to the throne six years later, at the age of 21. After Emperor Jianwen came to power, he strengthened the role of civilian officials in participating in state affairs, and implemented measures such as lenient punishment and severe punishment of eunuchs, while also changing some maladministrations in the reign of his grandfather, so that the situation in the Ming Dynasty flourished, known in history as the "New Deal of Jianwen".

Of the three mysteriously missing emperors in history, one was only 1 month old, and one made Zhu Di feel very nervous

Portrait of Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunjiao

In order to eliminate the hidden danger that the king of the clan had a heavy army and could not be defeated, Emperor Jianwen adopted the suggestions of Huang Zicheng, a scholar of Hanlin, and Qi Tai, the shangshu of the army, and vigorously promoted the policy of "cutting the domain", deposing the Zhou king Zhu Xu (Zhu Di's brother) and other five clan kings, and preparing to take action against Zhu Di, the king of Yan. Zhu Di was extremely afraid of the imperial court's policy of "cutting off the domain", and in order to protect himself, he heeded the advice of his confidant Yao Guangxiao and brazenly raised an army to rebel in July of the first year of Jianwen (1399), known in history as the "Battle of Jingnan".

The war lasted for 3 years, and at first Emperor Jianwen took full advantage of morality and military superiority, and had several opportunities to eliminate Zhu Di, but the latter's life was really hard, and he could always turn defeat into victory and expand his power at a critical moment. In October of the same year, Zhu Di successfully kidnapped Zhu Quan, the king of Ning, and annexed his elite troops (including the "Duoyan Sanwei"), and began to reverse the disadvantage on the battlefield. On June 13, the fourth year of Jianwen (1402), Zhu Di attacked the city of Nanjing, and Zhu Qi, the King of Gu, who was responsible for guarding the Jinchuan Gate, and Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao, surrendered Kaicheng without any resistance.

Of the three mysteriously missing emperors in history, one was only 1 month old, and one made Zhu Di feel very nervous

Portrait of Ming Chengzu Zhu Di

After the fall of the capital, Emperor Jianwen set fire to the palace, then fled pretending to be a monk, never to be found again. Because Emperor Jianwen's life and death were unknown, the anti-Zhu Di forces made a big fuss about it, using his name to engage in activities against the imperial court, which made Zhu Di and his descendants nervous. Although Zhu Di and his descendants claimed that Emperor Jianwen was dead, they had been secretly stepping up their search for his whereabouts. Some analysts said that Zheng He was ordered to go to the West 7 times, nominally to promote the "heavenly dynasty prestige", but in fact he was searching for the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen.

Historical sources: "History of the Old Five Dynasties", "History of the New Five Dynasties", "History of the Yuan", "History of Gold", "The Flow of the Ganges", "History of the Ming Dynasty"

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